The impact of a postoperative multimodal analgesia pathway on opioid use and outcomes after cardiothoracic surgery.

OBJECTIVE: The Enhanced Recovery after Surgery Cardiac Society recommends using multimodal analgesia (MMA) for postoperative pain however, evidence-based guidelines have yet to be established. This study examines the impact of a standardized postoperative MMA pathway in reducing opioid consumption and related complications after cardiothoracic surgery (CTS). METHODS: Within a multicenter healthcare system, a postoperative MMA pathway was developed and implemented at two CTS intensive care units (ICU) while the other CTS ICU opted to maintain the existing opioid-based pathway. A retrospective chart review was conducted on patients admitted to a CTS ICU within this healthcare system after conventional coronary artery bypass grafting and/or valve surgery from September 1, 2018, to June 30, 2019. Comparative analysis was conducted on patients prescribed MMA versus those managed with an opioid-based pathway. The primary outcome was total opioid consumption, converted to morphine milligram equivalents, 72-h post-surgery. Secondary outcomes included mobility within one-day post-surgery, ICU length of stay (LOS), time to first bowel movement (BM), and time to first zero Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale (RASS). RESULTS: Seven hundred sixty-two adults were included for final analysis. The MMA group had a higher body mass index, higher percentage of females, were more likely classified as African American and had higher scores for risk-adjusted complications. General Linear Model analysis revealed higher opioid consumption in the MMA group (Est. 0.22, p < 0.0009); however, this was not statistically significant after adjusting for differences in fentanyl usage. The MMA group was more likely to have mobility within one-day post-surgery (OR 0.44, p < 0.0001), have longer time to first BM (OR 1.93, p = 0.0011), and longer time to first zero RASS (OR 1.62, p = 0.0071). The analgesia groups were not a predictor for ICU LOS. CONCLUSIONS: Opioid consumption was not reduced secondary to this postoperative MMA pathway. The MMA group was more likely to have mobility within one-day post-surgery. Patients in the MMA group were also more likely to have prolonged time to first BM and first zero RASS. Development and evaluation of a perioperative MMA pathway should be considered.

A rare case of neurological dysfunction due to severe hyponatremia after carotid artery endarterectomy: A review of the clinical approach to hyponatremia.

Development of severe hyponatremia after carotid endarterectomy procedure is rare. Several pathophysiological mechanisms related to the carotid endarterectomy procedure may infer an increased risk of developing this complication in specific populations.

Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation for Amniotic Fluid Embolism-Induced Cardiac Arrest in the First Trimester of Pregnancy: A Case Report.

Amniotic fluid embolism is a rare obstetric emergency that can be accompanied by profound hypoxemia, coagulopathy, hemorrhage, and cardiogenic shock. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation may provide a rescue strategy in amniotic fluid embolism with cardiopulmonary collapse. Approaches to anticoagulation must be balanced against the risk of hemorrhage with concomitant coagulopathy. Although extracorporeal membrane oxygenation has been described for cardiopulmonary collapse in the setting of amniotic fluid embolism, its initiation as a bridge to hemostasis and cardiopulmonary recovery in amniotic fluid embolism-induced hemorrhagic and cardiogenic shock remains a novel resuscitation strategy. DESIGN SUBJECT AND INTERVENTION: We present a case detailing the initiation of extracorporeal life support with veno-arterio-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in a patient with hemorrhagic shock and cardiopulmonary failure due to amniotic fluid embolism. The patient was ultimately discharged home 19 days after presentation free from neurologic or other significant disability. MAIN RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Through this case, we describe a tailored approach to extracorporeal life support initiation and advanced extracorporeal membrane oxygenation management as a bridge to recovery in patients with mixed shock. Additionally, we discuss how the culmination of prehospital, outpatient and inpatient provider teamwork, easily portable extracorporeal membrane oxygenation equipment, and multispecialty collaboration can afford promising therapeutic options for patients who were previously deemed ineligible for extracorporeal life support.

Sepsis information-seeking behaviors via Wikipedia between 2015 and 2018: A mixed methods retrospective observational study.

Raising public awareness of sepsis, a potentially life-threatening dysregulated host response to infection, to hasten its recognition has become a major focus of physicians, investigators, and both non-governmental and governmental agencies. While the internet is a common means by which to seek out healthcare information, little is understood about patterns and drivers of these behaviors. We sought to examine traffic to Wikipedia, a popular and publicly available online encyclopedia, to better understand how, when, and why users access information about sepsis. Utilizing pageview traffic data for all available language localizations of the sepsis and septic shock pages between July 1, 2015 and June 30, 2018, significantly outlying daily pageview totals were identified using a seasonal hybrid extreme studentized deviate approach. Consecutive outlying days were aggregated, and a qualitative analysis was undertaken of print and online news media coverage to identify potential correlates. Traffic patterns were further characterized using paired referrer to resource (i.e. clickstream) data, which were available for a temporal subset of the pageviews. Of the 20,557,055 pageviews across 65 linguistic localizations, 47 of the 1,096 total daily pageview counts were identified as upward outliers. After aggregating sequential outlying days, 25 epochs were examined. Qualitative analysis identified at least one major news media correlate for each, which were typically related to high-profile deaths from sepsis and, less commonly, awareness promotion efforts. Clickstream analysis suggests that most sepsis and septic shock Wikipedia pageviews originate from external referrals, namely search engines. Owing to its granular and publicly available traffic data, Wikipedia holds promise as a means by which to better understand global drivers of online sepsis information seeking. Further characterization of user engagement with this information may help to elucidate means by which to optimize the visibility, content, and delivery of awareness promotion efforts.

Trends in Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Growth in the United States, 2011-2014.

The use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has grown rapidly in recent years. We sought to describe the rate of ECMO use in the United States, regional variation in ECMO use, the hospitals performing ECMO, and the primary payers for ECMO patients. Detailed data were obtained using the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUPnet) summaries of State Inpatient Databases from 34 participating states for the years 2011-2014. The ECMO rates over time were modeled, overall and within subcategories of age group, bed size, hospital ownership, teaching status, and payer type. During the study period, the overall rate of ECMO use increased from 1.06 (1.01, 1.12) to 1.77 (1.72, 1.82) cases per 100,000 persons per year (p = 0.005). The rate of ECMO use varied significantly by region. Most ECMO patients are cared for at large hospitals, and at private, not-for-profit hospitals with teaching designation. The most common payer was private insurance; a minority of patient were uninsured. The use of ECMO increased significantly during the study period, but regional variation in the rate of ECMO use suggests that this technology is not being uniformly applied. Further research is warranted to determine why differences in ECMO use persist and what impact they have on patient outcomes.

Highly visible sepsis publications from 2012 to 2017: Analysis and comparison of altmetrics and bibliometrics.

PURPOSE: We sought to delineate highly visible publications related to sepsis. Within these subsets, elements of altmetrics performance, including mentions on Twitter, and the correlation between altmetrics and conventional citation counts were ascertained. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Three subsets of sepsis publications from 2012 to 2017 were synthesized by the overall Altmetric.com attention score, number of mentions by unique Twitter users, and conventional citation counts. For these subsets, geolocated Twitter activity was plotted on a choropleth, the lag between publication date and altmetrics mentions was characterized, and correlations were examined between altmetrics performance and normalized conventional citation counts. RESULTS: Of 57,152 PubMed query results, Altmetric.com data was available for 28,344 (49.6%). The top 50 publications by Altmetric.com attention score and Twitter attention represented a mix of original research and other types of work, garnering attention from Twitter users in 143 countries that was highly contemporaneous with publication. Altmetrics performance and conventional citation counts were poorly correlated. CONCLUSIONS: While unreliable to gauge impact or future citation potential, altmetrics may be valuable for parties who wish to detect and drive public awareness of research findings and may enable researchers to dynamically explore the reach of their work in novel dimensions.

Association of Serratus Anterior Plane Block for Minimally Invasive Direct Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery With Higher Opioid Consumption: A Retrospective Observational Study.

OBJECTIVE: The optimal regional technique for minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass (MIDCAB) has yet to be determined. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of ultrasound-guided serratus anterior plane block (SAPB) with paravertebral block (PVB) and no block for controlling acute thoracotomy pain after robotic-assisted coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). DESIGN: This is a retrospective study. Multiple variable regression analyses were performed. SETTING: The study was performed as a single institution. PARTICIPANTS: All patients underwent robotic-assisted CABG. INTERVENTION: Data were analyzed from 197 patients during a 27-month period. Charts were abstracted manually to ascertain type of nerve block, age, gender, use of home opioids, use of adjuncts for opioid reduction, Society of Thoracic Surgeons predicted long length of stay (LOS), total opioid consumption during the 72 hours after surgery, and postoperative LOS. The authors' primary outcome was total morphine equivalents consumed during the first 72 hours after surgery. The secondary outcome was hospital LOS. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Patients who received SAPB did not have significantly different opioid consumption than patients who had no block (p = 0.15), but it was increased significantly compared to patients administered PVB (PVB v SAPB catheter, p = 0.049; PVB v SAPB single shot, p = 0.049). There were no significant differences between groups in terms of postoperative LOS. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest SAPB might not cover adequately the incisional and tube pain associated with MIDCAB. If validated by prospective studies, these findings suggest that SAPB should be considered only for patients who are not candidates for PVB.

Modes of mechanical ventilation vary between hospitals and intensive care units within a university healthcare system: a retrospective observational study.

OBJECTIVE: As evidence-based guidance to aid clinicians with mechanical ventilation mode selection is scant, we sought to characterize the epidemiology thereof within a university healthcare system and hypothesized that nonconforming approaches could be readily identified. We conducted an exploratory retrospective observational database study of routinely recorded mechanical ventilation parameters between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2016 from 12 intensive care units. Mode epoch count proportions were examined using Chi squared and Fisher exact tests as appropriate on an inter-unit basis with outlier detection for two test cases via post hoc pairwise analyses of a binomial regression model. RESULTS: Final analysis included 559,734 mode epoch values. Significant heterogeneity was demonstrated between individual units (P < 0.05 for all comparisons). One unit demonstrated heightened utilization of high-frequency oscillatory ventilation, and three units demonstrated frequent synchronized intermittent mandatory ventilation utilization. Assist control ventilation was the most commonly recorded mode (51%), followed by adaptive support ventilation (23.1%). Volume-controlled modes were about twice as common as pressure-controlled modes (64.4% versus 35.6%). Our methodology provides a means by which to characterize the epidemiology of mechanical ventilation approaches and identify nonconforming practices. The observed variability warrants further clinical study about contributors and the impact on relevant outcomes.

Global trends in the awareness of sepsis: insights from search engine data between 2012 and 2017.

BACKGROUND: Sepsis is an established global health priority with high mortality that can be curtailed through early recognition and intervention; as such, efforts to raise awareness are potentially impactful and increasingly common. We sought to characterize trends in the awareness of sepsis by examining temporal, geographic, and other changes in search engine utilization for sepsis information-seeking online. METHODS: Using time series analyses and mixed descriptive methods, we retrospectively analyzed publicly available global usage data reported by Google Trends (Google, Palo Alto, CA, USA) concerning web searches for the topic of sepsis between 24 June 2012 and 24 June 2017. Google Trends reports aggregated and de-identified usage data for its search products, including interest over time, interest by region, and details concerning the popularity of related queries where applicable. Outlying epochs of search activity were identified using autoregressive integrated moving average modeling with transfer functions. We then identified awareness campaigns and news media coverage that correlated with epochs of significantly heightened search activity. RESULTS: A second-order autoregressive model with transfer functions was specified following preliminary outlier analysis. Nineteen significant outlying epochs above the modeled baseline were identified in the final analysis that correlated with 14 awareness and news media events. Our model demonstrated that the baseline level of search activity increased in a nonlinear fashion. A recurrent cyclic increase in search volume beginning in 2012 was observed that correlates with World Sepsis Day. Numerous other awareness and media events were correlated with outlying epochs. The average worldwide search volume for sepsis was less than that of influenza, myocardial infarction, and stroke. CONCLUSIONS: Analyzing aggregate search engine utilization data has promise as a mechanism to measure the impact of awareness efforts. Heightened information-seeking about sepsis occurs in close proximity to awareness events and relevant news media coverage. Future work should focus on validating this approach in other contexts and comparing its results to traditional methods of awareness campaign evaluation.

Hemostatic and neuroprotective effects of human recombinant activated factor VII therapy after traumatic brain injury in pigs.

Human recombinant activated factor-VII (rFVIIa) has been used successfully in the treatment of spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage. In addition, there is increasing interest in its use to treat uncontrolled bleeding of other origins, including trauma. The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and potential effectiveness of rFVIIa to mitigate bleeding using a clinically relevant model of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the pig. A double injury model was chosen consisting of (1) an expanding cerebral contusion induced by the application of negative pressure to the exposed cortical surface and (2) a rapid rotational acceleration of the head to induce diffuse axonal injury (DAI). Injuries were performed on 10 anesthetized pigs. Five minutes after injury, 720 microg/kg rFVIIa (n=5) or vehicle control (n=5) was administered intravenously. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies were performed within 30 min and at 3 days post-TBI to determine the temporal expansion of the cerebral contusion. Euthanasia and histopathologic analysis were performed at day 3. This included observations for hippocampal neuronal degeneration, axonal pathology and microclot formation. The expansion of contusion volume over the 3 days post-injury period was reduced significantly in animals treated with rFVIIa compared to vehicle controls. Surprisingly, immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated that the number of dead/dying hippocampal neurons and axonal pathology was reduced substantially by rFVIIa treatment compared to vehicle. In addition, there was no difference in the extent of microthrombi between groups. rFVIIa treatment after TBI in the pig reduced expansion of hemorrhagic cerebral contusion volume without exacerbating the severity of microclot formation. Finally, rFVIIa treatment provided a surprising neuroprotective effect by reducing hippocampal neuron degeneration as well as the extent of DAI.

Harvested human neurons engineered as live nervous tissue constructs: implications for transplantation. Laboratory investigation.

OBJECT: Although neuron transplantation to repair the nervous system has shown promise in animal models, there are few practical sources of viable neurons for clinical application and insufficient approaches to bridge extensive nerve damage in patients. Therefore, the authors sought a clinically relevant source of neurons that could be engineered into transplantable nervous tissue constructs. The authors chose to evaluate human dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons due to their robustness in culture. METHODS: Cervical DRGs were harvested from 16 live patients following elective ganglionectomies, and thoracic DRGs were harvested from 4 organ donor patients. Following harvest, the DRGs were digested in a dispase-collagenase treatment to dissociate neurons for culture. In addition, dissociated human DRG neurons were placed in a specially designed axon expansion chamber that induces continuous mechanical tension on axon fascicles spanning 2 populations of neurons originally plated approximately 100 microm apart. RESULTS: The adult human DRG neurons, positively identified by neuronal markers, survived at least 3 months in culture while maintaining the ability to generate action potentials. Stretch-growth of axon fascicles in the expansion chamber occurred at the rate of 1 mm/day to a length of 1 cm, creating the first engineered living human nervous tissue constructs. CONCLUSIONS: These data demonstrate the promise of adult human DRG neurons as an alternative transplant material due to their availability, viability, and capacity to be engineered. Also, these data show the feasibility of harvesting DRGs from living patients as a source of neurons for autologous transplant as well as from organ donors to serve as an allograft source of neurons.